CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises on U.S., Canada data; banks, miners gain

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* TSX rises 32.06 points, or 0.24 percent, to 13,312.78
* Five of 10 main index sectors advance
* RBC plays biggest role in pushing index higher
* Barrick, Yamana Gold climb with bullion prices
By John Tilak
TORONTO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index climbed
on Monday as data from the United States and China suggested
growth in the world's two biggest economies was starting to
gather steam.
The Toronto market advanced for a second straight session,
with bank and gold-mining shares driving the gains.
Data showed China's exports topped forecasts in November and
that annual consumer inflation in the month slowed unexpectedly.
That data followed Friday's release of the U.S. government's
monthly labor market report, which showed that U.S. employers
hired more workers than expected in November and the jobless
rate reached a five-year low.
While such upbeat news has often drawn negative responses
from the market due to fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve might
begin to scale back its stimulus program, investors have
welcomed the latest wave of data.
"Net-net the data is positive," said Sid Mokhtari, market
technician and director, institutional equity research, at CIBC
World Markets.
"The cyclical areas of the market should do better than the
non-cyclicals," he added. He said he was bullish on the
industrial, financial and technology sectors.
Mokhtari expects commodity prices and shares to start to
show signs of strength in 2014, when he sees better prospects
for the TSX. The benchmark Canadian index has underperformed its
U.S. peers this year.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
closed up 32.06 points, or 0.24 percent, at 13,312.78
on Monday.
Five of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector,
climbed 0.4 percent. Royal Bank of Canada, the country's
biggest lender, jumped 1 percent to C$69.75 and had the biggest
positive influence on the index. Toronto-Dominion Bank
gained 0.9 percent to C$96.33.
Gold miners rose more than 2 percent, supported by gains in
the price of bullion. Barrick Gold Corp added 3.9
percent to C$17.01, and Yamana Gold Inc advanced 3
percent to C$9.34.
In corporate news, Goldcorp Inc said a group
challenging its use of lands around its Peñasquito mine in
Mexico is threatening to sue the company in Canada. The stock
slipped 0.2 percent to C$22.40.